Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Sapphire HD5770

[Going Bald]

Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Sapphire HD5770- edited to add MultiBeast settings

The Parts:
The Parts.png

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AMHWP8?ie=UTF8

Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Case
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ULLN1Y/

Corsair HX850W power supply
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029F21LA/

GigaByte GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YJPJ88/

Intel Core i7-920 processor
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H5T7LK/

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 cpu cooler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG3K14/

Corsair Dominator ram - 2 each 3x2 Gb PC3-12800 kits
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001L4A76G/

Corsair Dominator Airflow fan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TDEBZ2/

LG BH08LS20 Blu-ray Multi-drive
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021BSGJI/

Sapphire Radeon Vapor-v HD5770 1Gb DDR5
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030IVTRC/

replaced by:
Apple nVidia GeForce GT120
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V3DZD4/

Noctua NF-P12 Case fans (These are very quiet)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YSONMO/

WD VelociRaptor 300 Gb for Win7 Ultimate Install
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FBH0HE/

Seagate 7200.12 1 Tb Hard drives (for storage)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00272NHOK/

Pioneer DVDRW DVR-S18MBK
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...o=4978488&sku=P725-3098&srkey=pioneer s18-mbk

Already Owned
WD VelociRaptor 74 Gb (on hand) for OS X install

Viewsonic VA1912wb flat panel monitor
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HKIPVE/

Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005NIMJ/

Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V07N9U/


Comments

When I first started buying parts in November, 2009, I had no intention of building a hackintosh with them. It was going to be a Win7Ultimate 64 bit to use for work.

A little research and I found that everything would work except the HD5770. Thinking that if a Mac Pro could run WinXP, then the graphics card would work in a hack, I bought one. Been dual-booting ever since - Win7 for work and OS X for everything else.

Just used iBoot and MultiBeast to re-install 10.6.0 from scratch and update to 10.6.5 and dual booting is working great. Now that Apple has released drivers for the HD5xxx cards, I would put the HD5770 in, but experience proves that Win7 wouldn't like it and I don't feel like going through the hassle of re-validating the install.

The Noctua NF-P12 Fans are the quietest fans I have ever not heard.

There are a couple of things I could wish were improved on:
1. I would rather that the cpu cooler could be rotated 90 degrees to blow air up and be pulled out of the case by the upper fans, but the pipes and fins interfered with the first ram slot. Need to do more research next time.
2. With the ram fan installed, I could not install the second fan on the cpu cooler.
This means that with one fan pulling air through the fins, the cpu probably runs hotter than it should (49 C idle, 65-70 using Handbrake).

Thinking about turning the Mac Mini into a media server, but in the meantime, it is back in it's retail box (yes, I kept it - it was small enough to fit in the back of the drawer.) in the back of the drawer in my desk.

I probably spent more than an iMac would have cost, but I am happy with what I have.
Everything works, and there is room for expansion.

 

[Going Bald]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

The parts you've seen, but there was no room to add the rest - size limits of posts, you know, so here is "The rest of the story".

The Build:
The Build.zip

The BIOS:
The BIOS.zip

The MultiBeast Settings:
The Results.zip

The Results:
The Results.zip

 

[kitkonis]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

Nice build man!

 

[Going Bald]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

Nice build man!

Thanks. I needed something that could run Bentley Microstation(tm), PDMS. AutoCad and AutoPlant, sometimes having files opened in all of them at once, plus to do double duty as my e-mail, calendar, web surfing and everything else. Also, I wanted something that would last for a few years as is when I built it and was upgradable in the future. I think I got what I was looking for. The fact that it will also run OS X is a great bonus! Just waiting for someone to get the 6 core i7 working and for the price to come down a bit. If this rig screams with a 4 core and 12G of ram I'd love to see what it would do with a 6 core and 24G of ram!

There also seems to be a 3 attachment limit to a post. I know I uploaded the MB settings in my second post but it refuses to accept them even when I re-upload them. Oh, well.
Here they are then:
X58A-UD7 MultiBeast Settings 1.png
X58A-UD7 MultiBeast Settings 2.png

 

[bigalerickson]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

I am curious about how happy you are with the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Case. It looks like something that could be as sturdy as the Mac Pro case. with a fresh look. How was the build inside? Do you think it will be a case that will last years/upgrades?

Thank you for your thoughts, and I really appreciate the effort you put into your report, I will try and do the same once I pick out my hardware.

The Best, Alex

 

[Going Bald]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

I am curious about how happy you are with the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Case. It looks like something that could be as sturdy as the Mac Pro case. with a fresh look. How was the build inside? Do you think it will be a case that will last years/upgrades?

Thank you for your thoughts, and I really appreciate the effort you put into your report, I will try and do the same once I pick out my hardware.

The Best, Alex

It is a great case, but be aware that it is ~27"x27"x9" overall dimensions and is heavy even empty. It weighs 40+ pounds loaded with what I have in it now, so you can't take it to your local game meet with any kind of ease.

I especially like the fact that the upper rails give you a handy set of lifting handles and the lower rails lift it off of the top of the desk and there are 2 filters that slide out - one from the back below the power supply that filters air coming into the PSU which exhausts out the back of the PSU, and one that slides out from the front that filters the air coming into the case from the bottom both for general case cooling thru the fan in the bottom of the case in front of the PSU and thru the fan that draws air up through the HD bay trays (it takes up the bottom 5.5 " bay and is optional to mount it).
Also, the side panels are lined with foam sound deadening material and the hard drive trays are equipped with grommets that help reduce vibration noise from the HDs.

The only things that could make this case better would be a cutout on the motherboard tray to access the CPU cooler mounting bracket from behind for in situ replacement of the CPU cooler, the ability to route cables behind the mobo tray and front access hot swap bays. If Corsair had had the Obsidian 8D on the market sooner I probably would have gotten that one. It has everything above except maybe the air intake filters (I would have to look at it again to make sure).

 

[Solidww]

Re: Going Bald Build - GA-X58A-UD7 - Core i7-920 - Mac GT120

Holy Cow that is a computer build.

 

[Never2L8]

That motherboard is BEASTLY!!! I have to get my hands on one of those!!! Your Hackintosh must be a thing of beauty!!!

I do have an old EVGA X58 3X Classified (e760) mobo I wouldn't mind putting back in service, but I really like that Gigabyte board.

 

[bkoch709]

Did you flash the 5770 with the Mac image? I've tried my XFX 5770 in 2 different builds, and it doesn't work. Works fine with Win 7 pro 64 bit though.

 

[ookpic]

I have this exact motherboard! I'm wondering if you ever got the USB 3.0 ports working?